NANOTHER

The
conversion efficiency of state of the art thermoelectric generators is
limited to about 6%: higher performance low weight high-temperature
thermoelectric materials than those that are currently in use are
strongly needed. It has recently been shown that Si based quasi
monodimensional 1D nanowires can be designed to achieve extremely large
enhancements in thermoelectric efficiency, but only for low temperature
(T<350K) thermoelectric. Quasi 1D metal oxide nanowires (MOX) would
indeed provide the benefits of reduced dimensionality with their
excellent durability at high temperatures and are formidable candidates
to develop high-temperature thermoelectrics.
NANOTHER objective is to assess the thermoelectric performances of quasi
1D MOX nanowires prepared by a simple and low cost evaporation
condensation method and to build innovative thermoelectric modules to be
employed in radioisotope thermoelectric generators and in the
automotive industry in terms of fuel economy improvements by generating
electricity from high temperature waste heat and enhancing air
conditioning efficiency. Beside developed modules could have a
significant impact on low power portable electronics.